W. Barron

As I sit here in the airport waiting to start my nine-hour flight back home, I reflect about how it is still so surreal to me that merely four days ago I traveled 4,000 miles to attend my first UKAPP conference in Manchester, UK. Prior to me making this trek I had never been off the continent before or instructed a class solo. Let me tell you this was one of my most enjoyable experiences at a conference I’ve had. I expect that this is what it must have been like for the early days of the APP Conference.

Held at the Radisson Blu Edwardian in Manchester, England, the hotel was gorgeous and not what it seems from the street. According to the hotel’s website, it is set inside the historic Grade II-listed Free Trade Hall, one of the UK’s oldest and most iconic buildings. The fifth annual conference was on the fourth floor that has one main lobby area and three classrooms total. While the room prices were a little high, the hotel was central to some more affordable options, which is great for attendees that may be on a tighter budget in their travels. Nonetheless, the interior of the hotel and conference were modern and updated to suit the needs for the UKAPP’s fast-growing event for this year and the next.

The conference was very simplistic in function, with no computers in use. To sign in you just go up to the registration desk and show your identification and proof that you are industry affiliated. They look for you on a printed list, check your name off, hand you a blank conference badge to handwrite your name down, then you move down the line to pick whatever badge ribbons suit you best and then off you go to start your three days of learning. All classes were on a first come first serve basis. At the time of the class, you just jumped in the line that was forming at that specific classroom. When the doors opened, you entered the room and gave the volunteer your name, which was then checked off at the door on a printed list with all the attendees’ names on it again, so you got the credit for attending the class.

“The engagement was refreshing for me and showed that we are all truly teachers and learners in this industry, no matter if you have six months or 20+ years experience.”

Each day started with a morning class at around 10 am 11 am, then afterwards an hour lunch break for the attendees, preceded by an hour lunch for the vendors at the expo. It was definitely a different change of pace to have time built into the day to not have to worry about how you were going to eat without missing any classes. The rest of the class day lasted until about 6 pm. After lunch is when the bulk of the classes were scheduled; it was very difficult to decide what to attend as there were so many phenomenal classes to choose from.

The class that I had the pleasure of teaching for the first time was Versatility of Needle Blanks. The idea for the class was to introduce needle blanks and various ways you can apply them to be an effective disposable tool in your studio. I covered what a needle blank and transfer pin were, and several the ways the attendees are able to use them into disposable clamps. The feedback that I have received from the organizers has told me that my class was well received and really got the gears turning for a lot of piercers that attended the conference. By no means was my class the pinnacle of the conference. Other great classes that were offered include the following, just to name a few.

• Cannula vs. Needles
• PA FUNdaments
• Lumps and Bumps
• Aseptic Technique
• Self Care for the Happy Piercer
• Building your UKAPP studio
• Introduction to High-End Jewellery
• Jewellery and Studio Presentation
• Sexuality and Body Piercing
• Doubles, Triples and Beyond
• Ear Complexity

Overall the conference came in at 126 attendees with 12 vendors. It was amazing and  ran very smoothly. The vibes were calm, cool, and collective. The list of educators and instructors were fantastic, every one of them had passion you could see reflecting through each of their presentations. My favorite part about the whole conference was the attendees; everyone was very welcoming, kind, eager to listen and learn about what every instructor—including myself—had to say or teach. The engagement was refreshing for me and showed that we are all truly teach ers and learners in this industry, no matter if you have six months or 20+ years experience. I can’t wait to see what the UKAPP comes up with for this event in 2020. I would highly recommend this conference to any piercer, new or old, looking to experience something new in their career.